$2.5 million NIOSH grant to study impact of stress on police health

by jmaloni

Submitted

Thu, Aug 27th 2015 12:20 pm

UB research aims to improve prevention practices for police and working
population

How do the rigors of police work — from traumatic
sights and sounds, to long work shifts and high demand levels — affect
officers? A University at Buffalo study being funded by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) seeks to answer that important question.

John Violanti, research professor of epidemiology and
environmental health in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions, is
the lead investigator on the four-year, $2.5 million study, which will continue
previous work Violanti, himself a former law enforcement officer, has conducted
on the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress Study (BCOPS).

UB officials joined Rep. Brian Higgins at a news
conference Monday at Buffalo Police Station, B District in Buffalo to announce
the grant.

"This research will provide important insights into
how the stressful demands of police work impact the long-term health of
officers, giving us valuable data from which to explore ways to improve the
lives of those who choose this noble profession," Higgins said. "We commend professor
Violanti for his work in this area, a researcher who brings a unique
perspective to the project as a veteran of the New York State Police force for
more than 20 years."

"This is another powerful example of the tremendous
impact our faculty and intellectual resources have on the broader communities
we serve," UB President Satish K. Tripathi said. "Professor Violanti's research
has important implications for shaping law enforcement practice and policy at a
national level while having the potential to improve working conditions and
quality of life in the police community and beyond. This is research that can
make a real difference for police officers and a large segment of the working
population."

Stress, trauma and PTSD are common in police work,
Violanti noted.

"It's not only the danger of the streets, but also the
psychological danger that police work brings," he said. "Such exposures not
only affect officers psychologically, but bring with them physical outcomes
such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer."

The research will assess police stress over a period
of 12 years by examining measures of stress and the association of these
measures with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Its findings will be used
to provide translational information to improve prevention practices.

"On average, police officers have higher rates of
stress-related diseases than does the average working person," Violanti said.
"Our NIOSH-funded study will be among the first to look at the long-term
effects of stress on police health so we can develop new strategies to help
officers work in a healthy and less stressful work environment."

The impact of the study will stretch beyond the law
enforcement community, said Jean Wactawski-Wende, dean of the UB School of
Public Health and Health Professions.

The results of the study also will help to identify
the adverse health consequences associated with stress in a large portion of
the working population.

"This study will help us to understand the impact of
stress associated with police work and the effects of stress on health. These
findings will be relevant to other occupational groups that also experience
stress as part of their daily routine," Wactawski-Wende said. "This is an
important public health issue and we are proud to have this important work
being led here at the University at Buffalo by Dr. Violanti and his team."

NIOSH has funded several other studies Violanti has
led to examine the long-term effects of police work. Violanti is quite familiar
with the rigors of the job. He was a member of the New York State Police for 23
years, serving as a trooper, criminal investigator and, later, as coordinator
of the State Police psychological assistance program.

In 2010, he received $2.7 million from NIOSH for a
study examining how job stress affects police officers over time, with a goal
of developing prevention programs for officers.

Violanti has been leading BCOPS since 2004, and
conducted two pilot studies prior to that. His work has been published in
journals that include Psychiatry Research, Stress and Health and the
International Journal of Emergency Mental Health.